Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Meanwhile, Tory fatcats still cream off millions
AS the poorest families count the cost of the pandemic, some big businesses and wealthy Tories have prospered.
Conservative supporters have won at least £180million worth of contracts to supply the Government with PPE during the pandemic.
Meller Designs won seven contracts worth £65m to produce vital kit such as gloves, masks and hand sanitiser.
Tory donor David Meller, who has given £65,000 to the party over the past 10 years, co-owns the business.
The firm previously said it was “extremely proud” of its record during the height of the pandemic, securing 150 million items of PPE.
Meanwhile, Baroness Dido Harding, a former Talktalk boss who presided over the botched roll out of the test-and-trace programme, has been handed a bigger job as interim chair of the new National Institute for Health Protection.
Gloucestershire firm P14 Medical, run by Tory councillor Steve Dechan, was awarded two contracts worth £120m to supply face shields and has two more contracts in the pipeline.
Another firm, Clipper Logistics, founded by Steve Parkin, who has donated more than £500,000 to the Tories, won a £1.3m contract to distribute PPE.
Tory-linked firm Randox has been allowed to keep a £113m Covid testing contract after 750,000 unused kits were recalled over safety concerns.
Tory MP and ex-minister Owen Paterson has been a consultant for Randox since 2015. He has been paid £8,333 for 16 hours’ work per month since 2017, according to the register of members’ interests.